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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Stéphane Brizé - Mademoiselle Chambon (2009)

Synopsis

Véronique Chambon (Sandrine Kiberlain) leads a quiet, assuming life in provincial town, earning her living by teaching elementary school and seemingly spending much of her free time in the quiet of her rented apartment. Having asked the parents of her pupils to visit her classroom to talk about what they do for a living, she encounters Jean (Vincent Lindon), a class parent and home builder who somewhat shyly explains his daily routine. Somehow, a certain spark ignites between the proper young teacher and the gruff contractor. Both sense the impossibility of their attraction, but neither lets it fade. Stéphane Brizé carefully constructs the elegant, moving tale of unexpected romance with enormous patience and delicacy, sensitive to the rhythms of this special relationship full of misconstrued signals and ambiguous feelings. And, Kiberlain and Lindon (divorced in real life) are both simply superb.